Of Cabbages and Kings
by Devil Woman
Summary: This is a companion piece to "Four Superheroes and a Tsarevna". When Thor pays a visit to the Avengers tower during a break from his civic duties in Asgard, he uses his time off to get to know the now six year old Natasha.


Of Cabbages and Kings

By Devil Woman

DISCLAIMER: All characters are copy righted by Disney/Marvel. I own nothing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know there was a lack of Thor in "Four Superheroes and a Tsarevna", so I wrote this as to make up for his absence in that story. Read and Review!

* * *

It had been awhile since Thor had seen his team mates. Having to return to Asgard post haste after the Battle of New York to place Loki on trial and eventual prison sentence for his crimes against Earth, the god of thunder remained in his home world as part of his civic duties. Now after things between the realms have calmed down, Thor felt it was the perfect time to visit his new friends. Upon locating the Avengers tower, he rang the doorbell with excitement. He was looking forward to spending the next few days swapping stories over great food and company. When the door opened, Thor was surprised as to who appeared before him.

It was a little girl no more than six. The girl had fiery red hair in sweet cherub curls and big blue-green eyes. Dressed in a layered t-shirt with a blue and white polka dot rabbit printed on the front with boot-cut jeans and pink sneakers, the child looked up at Thor with an uneasy, curious expression as she tightened her grip on the plush toy hawk tucked under her arm.

"Yes?" she said.

"Hello there. Is this the residence of Tony Stark?" The little girl nodded in response to Thor's question.

"Is he home?"

"Uh…" she then turned away from the warrior. "Steve! There's a man at the door!" she yelled.

"Hold on, I'm coming." Steve called back to the child.

Steve Rogers then appeared before him. Thor almost didn't recognize him, especially since the last time the demi god was on Earth was when they were all in their uniforms. Steve was dressed in his pressed down khakis and checkered blue button up shirt. He immediately let a big, happy grin appear on his face when he saw who was at the door.

"Well look who's a sight for sore eyes! Welcome back Thor! Come in!" Steve invited him in. As Thor entered the living quarters, the six year old hid behind Steve, growing shy.

"The others are going to be pleasantly surprised. Natasha, show Thor to the living room while I go get the rest of the guys." Steve instructed her.

"OK." She replied. She quietly led the man into the adjacent room. Thor took a seat on the couch while the girl sat across from him on the love seat. Thor was astounded by the child sharing the same name as Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow. In fact, he noticed how eerily familiar looking the girl looked like the SHIELD spy…

"How are you, Natasha?" the hero asked her, attempting to ease her discomfort toward him.

"Fine." She said, looking at his strange clothes; Thor was still wearing his Asgardian armor. "Are you a superhero like Clint and his friends?"

"Yes. Have they mentioned about our times together in the battlefield to you?"

"Not really." Natasha looked down at her lap that held the toy, rubbing it as if it was some sort of charm to ease her worries.

"Who's your friend?" Thor pointed to the plush animal.

"Clint Jr. Clint gave him to me." The six year old said, smiling. "He makes the scary monsters stay away."

Thor smiled. "He sounds like a very good protector for you, little one."

Natasha nodded. It was then Steve returned with Tony, Bruce and Clint. After they all exchanged greetings, the group sat down in the living room and listened to Thor's questions.

"Whom must I congratulate on becoming a father?" he asked when he mentioned it was Natasha that answered the door.

The four men looked at one another with nervous expressions. "Well…" Bruce said, hesitating on how to answer Thor's query. Clint quickly remedied the situation and turned to Natasha.

"Say Nat, you wanna go play with your dollhouse in the other room with me? Mr. Tony, Bruce and Steve need to talk about some grown-up stuff with Thor." Clint said.

The little girl's mood brightened. "Sure Clint!" She was eager to spend some time with the archer. Clint smiled and took her hand into his. As he lead the child to her bedroom, the remaining adults where free to talk.

"None of us are parents, Thor." Steve stated.

"Then surely she must be Lady Pepper or Lady Maria's child."

"Wrong again, lightning bug." said Tony.

"Then prey tell who are her parents?"

"Thor…we don't know how to best explain this, but here goes. That little girl is Natasha Romanoff."

"You mean Lady Romanoff is a mother? Where is she, I must express my up most happiness to her!" Thor exclaimed in happiness. But upon seeing the seriousness on his friends' faces quickly diminished his excitement since he had mistaken their statement. "She is not Lady Romanoff's daughter?"

"No…the child is Natasha when she was six." Bruce calmly told Thor.

The demi god looked confused. "But, how? Was it something my brother or one of his associates did; a curse or some type of spell of ill will?"

"A defective teleporter." Steve said.

"Teleporter?"

"Yup. Bird boy swiped it from my workbench one day while we were on a mission and used it on him and Nat while they fell from a building. Unfortunately, it went all Weird Science and caused her to become a kid again." Tony explained to the warrior.

"Surely you, a man of vast scientific knowledge, are able to fix the machine and return Lady Romanoff to normal."

"It's not that easy. Bruce and I are having difficulty repairing it. A lot of the parts are not of this world and it's going to take some time getting all the replacement parts we need to have it working at one hundred percent."

"We were hoping that you could use some of your connections to try to find parts for it." Bruce added.

"By all means, I will do my best! As for our companion, is she all right? Is she in distress?"

"From what the four of us have experienced the last several months or so, Natasha is your typical six year old. She has no memories from when she was an adult; she only sees us as a group of men who are her guardians." said Steve.

Thor was distraught and the group saw it clearly on the god of thunder's face.

"Look, I know it's a lot to take in. We've all been in the same place you are in now, Thor." Bruce said. "But think of it this way. Natasha has a chance to create better memories for herself."

"How so?"

"I know you never got a chance to get to know her, but here's the Cliff Notes version." Tony began. "Natasha's childhood was mainly spent in a now defunct organization called the Red Room. In a nutshell, they brainwashed kids into becoming adult assassins. It took her years to finally clear her name, but now that Red's a kid again…we have the chance to give her the childhood she deserved to have."

"I see…" Thor pondered over this new development. "Men, it would be an honor and privilege to help the now young Lady Romanoff have a happy childhood."

Tony, Steve and Bruce nodded and smiled with gratitude. Despite they had only recently formed, the team of heroes had developed a close-knit bond with one another and vowed to help out each other, no matter what.

"I am here for the next few days on break from my duties in Asgard. This will give me time to get to know Young Natasha." Thor stated.

"Perfect! But we have to lay down some ground rules, especially now that we have a six year old in our care." Steve said to Thor.

After going over Thor's restrictions in dealing with the juvenile Russian (no rough housing being the most important), the demi god settled in. After changing into his Midgard clothes (a navy blue t-shirt and pewter grey slacks), Thor went to Natasha's room. The door was open and he peered through the doorway. Sitting on the floor was Clint and Natasha. She was happily holding a doll and playing house as the archer played long with her. Thor noticed the soft smile on Clint's face. He knew that the agents had known each other longer than the rest of the team and it showed. Thor gently knocked on the door and his two team mates looked up at him.

"Hey Thor." Clint waved.

"Hello Mr. Thor." Natasha said, but her shyness overcame her once more and she turned away.

"Young Natasha, you should not need to feel shy around me. I am a friend of Clint's." Thor told the little girl.

"Is that true?" she asked him. "Is Mr. Thor a friend of yours?"

"Yes, Thor is my friend. I know he hasn't been around a lot since you came to live with us at the tower, but he's a nice guy once you get to know him Nat." Clint said.

Natasha always felt at ease with Clint and trusted his judgment. She looked at Thor once more and gave him a smile.

"Clint says you're nice, and I believe him. He's pretty smart." Natasha said, thumbing at the agent. Clint grew slightly red from embarrassment. "Do I have to call him Mr. Thor?"

"You can call me Thor. 'Mr. Thor' sounds odd to me."

Natasha's smile grew bigger. "Alright Thor. You wanna play with my dollhouse? Mr. Tony bought it for me at the toy store."

"I'd be happy to, Young Natasha."

Clint got up from his place on the floor and let Thor sit next to her. He watched the two act out the domestic scenario from before. It seemed that Natasha was going to get along with the Norse god just fine.

After playing with the dollhouse for a bit, Natasha asked Thor what he'd like to do next.

"Well, what do you like to do with the others? Maybe that will give me some ideas as to what we shall do next." He said.

"Clint and I like to give each other makeovers." Natasha explained and went over to her tall cabinet. She grabbed her play make-up kit and brought it over to Thor. "Miss Pepper gave me this. She always has pretty make-up on."

Thor eyed the kit nervously. Before Clint left, he warned Thor about getting involved in the six year old's desire for anything girly.

"Getting painted in cheap make-up is a sure fire ticket on the Tony Stark Smart Ass Express." Clint cautioned.

"Ah yes. Stark does have a tendency to mouth off like a dumb beast." The Norse deity mused. While he didn't always understand the billionaire's sense of humor, the hero knew from other's reactions that Tony's comments were not always appreciated.

Thor hesitated, but quickly regained himself. "Perhaps there is another way we can give each other…'make overs'."

Natasha thought about it and got an idea. She quickly got out another play kit from her shelf. Thor saw it contained combs, brushes and an assortment of hair accessories.

"Let's play Beauty Shop! None of the other guys have long hair like yours, Thor."

Thor chuckled. In a moment of vanity, the demi god did admit to himself that out of all his cohorts, he did have the best head of hair.

"All right. We shall play 'Beauty Shop'. I trust you will make my hair presentable and flawless."

"And you'll make my hair pretty too?"

"I may not be familiar with your culture's definitions of hair styles, but I will try my best."

"OK, let's get started!" the six year old cheered.

They had decided to set up the "hair salon" in the living room. Thor had Natasha sit in his lap on the couch as he gingerly began to comb her curls. He reminisced seeing girls Natasha's age back in Asgard doing the very same thing. Their mother's would also have them on their laps as they combed or brushed out their daughter's hair and style them in braids and ponytails. Thor also found styling Natasha's hair relaxing as he continued to comb, humming a soft tune as he did so. When he was done combing out her hair, the girl then chose which barrettes she wanted in her hair. After taking her requests, Thor finished fixing up Natasha's hair. He held up the mirror from the kit and let Natasha look at herself.

Thor had taken her hair and put it on an up-do bun. Then using a thick stand of hair, he made a braid and used the barrettes Natasha chose and pinned it across underneath the bun. He got inspired by seeing his own mother wear a similar hairstyle once. The little girl gushed in joy once she saw herself.

"Don't I look fabulous?" she asked Thor, pursing her lips together in a humorous haughty pout like a celebrity.

"Yes you do, Young Natasha." Thor complimented.

"OK, your turn!" she giggled, excited to take her turn at styling the Asgardian's locks.

Thor had to sit Indian-style on the carpet for the child to be able to reach his hair. Natasha started to brush the warrior's long blonde hair. "You have such soft hair." She said in awe as she continued to comb out Thor's hair.

After separating and attempting to create various small braids, Natasha then used several clips of brightly colored fake hair and put them on Thor's head. Several strands of his hair fell around his face from the child's attempt at pinning his hair back. When finished, she handed him the mirror. "So, what do you think?" she beamed, proud of her work.

Thor's hair was a mess of sloppy mini braids and fake hair extensions in garish colors. "I do say it is different…I like it!"

Tony had heard the two cheer and giggle and came into the living room. When he saw Thor's outrageous hair, the billionaire had to suppress his laughter.

"Thor…your hair…" he said, struggling not to burst out laughing.

"Ah, Tony! What do you think of Young Natasha's new hair style on me?"

"Let me go get Clint." said Tony, letting out stifled chuckles as he dragged the archer out of his room. As with Tony, Clint tried his best not to burst out laughing but to no avail. The two men then let out hearty laughs.

"Thor, you look ridiculous!" Clint howled.

"You look like a reject from _Waterworld_!" Tony gaffed.

Thor's team mates where laughing so hard that tears where starting appear. Steve and Bruce couldn't help but hear the commotion and came upon the scene.

"What's going on?! Oh." Steve saw that Tony and Clint where on their knees, still laughing hard and catching their breathe while wiping away the tears of joy. The solider saw Thor and Natasha's hair styles and blinked in confusion. Bruce could only shake his head.

"Natasha, what did you and Thor do to your hair?" the scientist asked the girl.

"We're playing Beauty Shop. See? We made each other pretty!" While the little girl's hair was adorable, the god of thunder's hair was simply a travesty.

"Come on, Natasha. Let's get you cleaned up for supper." Bruce told her and took her into the bathroom.

"I don't even want to know." Steve said as he looked down at his still hysterical friends.

"Hey, we had nothing to do with this-for once!" Tony told Steve.

"I second it!" Clint held up his hand.

"I best clean up as well." Thor said, feeling guilty for letting the six year old go overboard with the hair salon kit.

Once he and Natasha had fixed their hair, Thor and the rest of the group settled down for dinner. After enjoying the lasagna Clint had cooked for the team and help clean up the kitchen, Thor and Natasha now had to find another activity to pass the time.

"I think we should play some sort of board or card game." Thor said to the little girl.

"I have many different kinds of games." Natasha lead Thor to where all of her games were kept. The two looked at the different titles, but couldn't agree on which one to play.

"When I was your age, I always liked Hide and Seek." Thor suggested.

"That sounds fun! Let's play that game!"

"OK. I'm going to count to one hundred and you go find a place to hide. Then I'll come and find you." Thor closed his eyes and started to count down. "100…99…98…"

Natasha scurried away. The warrior snickered in delight. He figured there weren't too many places in the tower to hide and he would find the girl with ease. Plus, from what Thor could remember about his own childhood, he was an expert at Hide and Seek and would often win many games with his peers.

When a few minutes had gone by, Thor called out "Here I come!" and proceeded to find Natasha. He checked her room by looking under the bed and in the closet. He then searched the ensuite bathroom. No luck. Thor then searched the other bedrooms, the kitchen and dining room. He still hadn't found the child. Growing nervous, Thor asked Bruce to help find her.

"Let's retrace our steps." Bruce suggested.

After checking Thor's previously searched areas once more, the two friends sat on the couch in the living room with a heavy thud.

"Friend Bruce, just where could have the little one gone off to?"

"Let's hope she isn't taking hiding spot tips from Clint." He muttered.

Bruce knew the archer often crawled in the vents of the tower when he felt like playing Kilroy and spy on the others (a habit he picked up from the elder Natasha). But given the team's current circumstances with Natasha, Clint knew better. As the two pondered over what to do next, Natasha jumped up from behind the couch.

"Surprise!" she shouted, causing the men to jump in fright.

Thor and Bruce quickly turned and stared at the wide tooth grinning six year old. "I win!" Natasha proudly smirked.

"No more Hide and Seek…ever." Bruce told Thor, still trying to calm his nerves (he really didn't need the Other Guy to appear and wreck the tower).

* * *

The next day, after they had breakfast (Natasha couldn't believe just how many Pop-Tarts Thor was able to eat in one sitting) and got dressed for the day, the little girl decided on story time as their next activity.

"Bruce is my favorite person to read to me. He even lets me pick which story I want to hear." Natasha explained to Thor when she showed him her large book of fairy tales.

"I am not familiar with many of these stories. Do you have a favorite you would like me to read?" Thor asked.

"Beauty and the Beast…uh, no. I like Sleeping Beauty. Wait!" Natasha had a hard time deciding as she pointed to all the different titles in the table of contents.

"How about we choose something completely different."

"OK."

The demi god and the little girl went over to the bookshelf and eyed the many volumes. Natasha's gaze stopped at a red and gold book and pulled it out for Thor to see. The book was a collection of children's poetry.

"What about this one? Bruce sometimes likes to read from this one too."

"That sounds like a plan."

Thor and Natasha sat on the couch and they began to read from the poetry book. Since it was a massive tome of works, Thor skipped some of the poems, as he and Natasha where not interested in them. However, Natasha recognized several poems from Alice in Wonderland.

"Thor, read these! I saw the movie and they were mentioned in it!" she said, growing excited.

The Norse deity read "The Walrus and the Carpenter" first, and then moved on to "Jabberwocky".

"Judging by the accompanying illustration, it will be a joyous poem to read." Thor said, his eyes lighting up. The picture was of a boy dressed as a knight fighting off a beast of some sort.

"Do you like stuff about going after scary things?" Natasha asked, looking at the picture in the book.

"Well, I do like a good adventure story, Young Natasha. I have always admired brave men and women going on a quest and succeeding at their goal."

Thor than began to read the poem. While he struggled to pronounce most of the words (many of them where gibberish), he had captivated the child. Using a vivacious, booming voice when describing the young man's journey to kill the creature made Natasha become intrigued and invested in the story. After Thor finished, she gave him a standing ovation.

"That was awesome! You are just as good as Bruce!" Natasha happily exclaimed and clapped.

"Thank you, young one."

"I wish I could go on an adventure like the boy in the poem." The little girl said. "But I don't think I'm brave enough. That monster was scary!"

"Nonsense! I know plenty of women who are just as brave as their male friends. Why, my friend Lady Sif is one of the bravest warriors I know. We have fought many battles together and she still impresses me with her wit and skill." Thor told Natasha, eager to praise his fellow Asgardian.

"Wow…you mean she could take on the Jabberwocky all by herself?"

"I have no doubt Lady Sif would defeat him with ease."

"Will I meet her someday, Thor?"

"Perhaps you will, Natasha." Thor took delight in how Sif would react to meeting the now juvenile SHIELD agent. Surely the warrior would enjoy seeing how the girl saw her as a fitting role model. Suddenly, an idea came to the hero. "Say, how would you like to go on an adventure just like in the poem?"

Natasha looked at Thor with an inquisitive face. "How?"

"I need help conjuring up a beast just like in the poem and you are just the person to do so. Do you have any idea how it can be done?"

Natasha thought hard and then realized her answer.

"Steve and I have an arts and crafts box we made. I bet there are plenty of things in there to help us make a Jabberwocky." She led the Asgardian to where the art supply tote was. Popping off the lid, the girl started to pull out all sorts of items from inside.

"He needs to be very big. Bigger than me!" Natasha opened her arms wide to show Thor what she wanted.

"All great beasts are larger than their foes. I will see if any of our friends can help us."

Thor had come across Steve and asked him how he could create a Jabberwocky for Natasha to battle.

"I thought we made it clear that no rough housing was to take place with her while you are here visiting."

"That is true, but Young Natasha was inspired by the poem I had read her earlier. I just couldn't say no."

Steve sighed and ultimately conceded. "I do believe Tony has some cardboard boxes in the lab; they'll be perfect for creating that creature you read about. Let's go check."

Steve and Thor entered the lab that both Tony and Bruce occupied most of the time. When they explained the reason for their visit, Tony and Bruce couldn't help but smile at the scenario Thor and Natasha where planning to play out.

"Can't wait to see it when it's finished…which give me an idea." said Tony, complete with sneaky grin on his face. Bruce looked at the billionaire with apprehension.

"Oh, don't worry Bruce; you're not part of my plan. Can't say the same for Legolas…"

With two, large flat cardboard boxes in their hands, Steve and Thor returned to Natasha and the three laid the cardboard on the dining room table. With a skilled hand, Steve and Thor used the illustration from the book and began to recreate the famous Jabberwocky. After drawing the outline, the men helped the little girl paint and assemble the creature. When it was finished, Natasha looked at the Jabberwocky with glee.

"We did a great job!"

"Yes we did." Steve was impressed by their handiwork.

The body of the beast was colored a lime green with orange claws and a blue belly. Since they had re-folded the box back to its original shape, it was large enough for someone to crawl into and shuffle around to simulate the Jabberwocky moving. Its head had been cut out from the other box and glued on the base. Using construction paper and googly eyes completed the face, giving the Jabberwocky a comical look with its tongue sticking out.

"Now any warrior needs a sword and shield to defeat their enemy." Thor said to Natasha and presented her with the items he fashioned out of the remaining cardboard box.

"Thank you Thor." She said and saw that he purposely left hem blank for her to decorate.

She eagerly began to paint her sword and shield. Tony had come into the room to check up on the three of them and saw that the Jabberwocky was complete. An impish smile crept onto his face.

"Oh, Clint!" he sang and left the room. He then shoved the agent forward and the archer saw the cardboard creature.

"Pretty cool monster, Nat."

"Thanks Clint. Thor and Steve helped me make him." She then held up her sword and shield. "Thor made these for me. I can't wait to beat up the Jabberwocky!"

"And that's where you come in. You're going to be the Jabberwocky." Tony explained to Clint.

"Me?! Why?!"

"Cause you're the only one who's small enough to fit in the box."

"You're about the same size as me!" Clint angrily pointed out.

"I'd rather be the king. I'm far too handsome to be some smelly beast." Tony said. Clint huffed in frustration while Steve chuckled at his friend's reaction to Tony's ego-centric comment.

* * *

Steve and Bruce where sitting in the middle of the living room surrounded by a ring of stuffed animals. They were being held captive by the Jabberwocky.

"Oh no! We were foolish to have made the Jabberwocky mad!" Steve said in his best play acting voice.

"Now we are his prisoners forever and ever!" Bruce followed in the same tone.

"Never fear, a hero will be sent to save you!" Tony boisterously called out.

Natasha had taken Tony's advice and made him the king who was going to give out her quest to save Steve and Bruce. The billionaire was wearing the six year old's Burger King crown atop his head and had on an old maroon bathrobe to be his kingly garb over his clothes. Tony also held Natasha's fairy wand to act as his scepter. Steve and Bruce grimaced slightly at Tony's performance; he was relishing in his role a bit too much.

"Lady Natasha, will you go on a dangerous quest to save Sir Steven and Sir Bruce from the terrible Jabberwocky?" Tony asked the six year old.

"I will accept!" she responded. Natasha held up her cardboard sword and shield with gusto.

"To help you on your quest, I shall send my finest squire to go with you. Thor, you are needed!"

"As you wish, my lord." Thor stood next to Natasha. They both had capes draped around their shoulders, although Thor's cape was his own from Asgard and Natasha's was an old beach towel.

"Go, and be sure to save them before dinner time." Tony instructed, shooing them away via his "scepter". The fairy wand began to blink rapidly and make a jingling noise. Tony winced awkwardly as Steve and Bruce laughed at the sight. The billionaire shot down his friends' laughter with a dirty look.

"Onward, Lady Natasha!" Thor said and she led the way. They were only a few feet away from Steve and Bruce in their stuffed animal prison when the Jabberwocky appeared. The cardboard beast was parked right in front of them and shuffled slightly.

"Roar." Clint pathetically said.

"Really, Clint? Can't you at least be a bit more enthusiastic?" Steve complained.

"I can't see for, well, you know…" Clint muffled underneath the cardboard box. "And it's hard to breathe too."

"Clint…just go with the flow." Bruce said.

"Fine." He gruffed. The archer then let out a more impressive call.

"Lady Natasha, the Jabberwocky is a terrible foe. Are you sure we are up to the challenge?" Thor said in his best coward's voice.

"Of course we are! I have a magical sword that can cut into anything!" Natasha displayed her pink and purple colored toy.

"Look! The beast approaches!"

Thor pointed to the cardboard creature. Clint scuttled across the floor like a crab due to bulkiness of the box. He let out another threatening growl. The little girl put on a brave face and started to attack the monster. She whacked the Jabberwocky several times with her sword. Thor, Steve and Bruce looked on, gasping in awe over Natasha's actions.

"Die Jabberwocky!" she shouted as she continued to smack the enemy.

"Mwah-Ha Ha!" Clint laughed deeply.

"You can do it!" Steve and Bruce cheered on.

"Lady Natasha! The monster's weak point is his neck, attack it for massive damage!" Thor remembered this quip Tony had taught him awhile back; Tony laughed out loud when he heard the demi god quote the popular meme saying.

"Thanks, Thor!" And with one good jab, the girl took off the head. Clint knocked the box to its side, simulating the death of the Jabberwocky.

"OOF! Dead." He croaked.

"Hooray!" the rest of the men cried in joy.

"What's going on here?" an all too familiar voice said.

Everyone turned and saw Pepper, along with Maria standing near the entrance to the living room. The two women had been busy at the grocery store preparing for tonight's dinner. With their arms full of bags, they eyed the adult Avengers with curious expressions.

"Hello ladies." Tony greeted them with a kingly smile.

"Tony, what are you doing wearing a bathrobe and Natasha's Burger King crown?" Pepper questioned her boyfriend.

"Mr. Tony is the king that sent me on a quest to kill the Jabberwocky. See? I defeated him and saved Steve and Bruce." Natasha proudly proclaimed.

Clint slide out of the box and gave the two women a sheepish wave to them.

"Lady Pepper and Lady Maria, Young Natasha has proven she is just as brave and cunning as my fellow warriors of Asgard." Thor said.

"I'm glad to hear that." Maria commented and turned to Steve and Bruce in the middle of the stuffed animal ring. "I take it that your prison is null and void."

"Indeed." Bruce said, smiling as he got up to help Maria and Pepper put the groceries away.

Steve began to pick up the stuffed animals, along with Clint. Thor gathered the cardboard Jabberwocky and with Natasha brought it to her room. Tony was about to go sit at the dining room table when Pepper stopped him.

"You may got to play the king, but you are not going to keep acting like one." She said and removed the crown from Tony's head.

"It was fun while it lasted." Tony told her. He then went to help set the table as Pepper and Maria began to make dinner.

During dinner, the group exchanged stories and played catch-up as Thor told everyone about his time in Asgard. Much later that evening, after the dishes where clean and put away, the Asgardian and the little girl where busy coloring from Natasha's coloring book when Thor noticed the sleep expression on her face.

"It appears you are ready to retire, little one."

"No, I wanna stay up." Natasha said, her head dropping.

Thor chuckled. It was growing late. "Come, I shall help you to bed." He picked her up and carried Natasha to her room.

After she had changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth, Natasha got into bed with Clint Jr. by her side.

"I had fun today with you Thor. It was awesome that we got to go on an adventure and beat up a monster together."

"I am glad too, Young Natasha. We will certainly have more adventures in the near future."

The girl gave Thor a big smile and settled into bed for the night. "Good night." She said to him.

"Pleasant dreams, Young Natasha."

After closing her bedroom door, the warrior returned to where the two had colored. He noticed that Natasha had been doodling on a blank piece of paper. Picking it up, Thor saw that she had drawn him and her battling the Jabberwocky from earlier today. The words "Me and Thor" was scrawled above the caricatures with Natasha's name signed in the bottom corner. Thor smiled at the charming picture. The god of thunder was glad that the girl was enjoying her time with him, and he as well. It was going to be hard to say good-bye to the now six year old Natasha when it was time for him to leave.

Over the next day or so, Thor relished in his time at the tower. He took pleasure in not only spending time with his adult team mates, but also playing and getting to know the now young Natasha; Thor felt like he would make a great parent someday. But when it was time for him to return Asgard, Natasha grew upset. She too had a blast getting to know him in the short amount of time and was going to miss him terribly.

"Will you come and visit again real soon?"

"I will try, Young Natasha. I have enjoyed our time together and look forward to the day we will meet again."

"Oh, before you go, I wanna give you something." Natasha dashed to her bedroom and returned with her cardboard sword and shield. She then handed them to Thor.

"Why are you giving me your sword and shield?" Thor was surprised by the little girl's gesture.

"I want you to remember how brave I was when we beat the Jabberwocky together."

"Young Natasha…I am humbled by your gift. But I cannot accept them."

"Why?" Natasha looked hurt.

"It would be wrong of me to take both of your weapons. I would like to leave at least one of them behind. That way, we both have a reminder of our battle against the fearsome creature."

"I see." Natasha liked Thor's suggestion. "Which one do you think I should keep, Thor?"

"A warrior's sword is their most prized possession, so I think you should keep the sword. I will take the shield and proudly display it in my home for all to see."

"And you'll tell everyone of our fight against the monster too."

"Indeed I shall!"

When everyone had come to send off Thor, Natasha gave the Norse deity a big hug. He returned the hug as well and after the two held up the cardboard sword and shield in salute to one another.

"Till we meet again. Be brave and cunning, Young Natasha!"

"Good-bye Thor! Have a safe trip!"

The rest of the Avengers smiled at the exchange. It was another great memory that the team hoped Natasha would cherish when she would return to being an adult someday.

THE END


End file.
